OK, I've read what most people's opinions are of Lion Brand Homespun. However, I get their email "booklet" and on the last one they had a "6 Hour" afghan made with Homespun and size 50 ginormous needles.

Since I'm trying to get about 7 afghans made for Christmas, this might be worth a shot. My main question is this - disregarding your possible dislike for Homespun, the pattern is calling for all stockinette stitch. I KNOW what all stockinette stitch does, and I doubt that just because it's on big needles it won't curl like it always does. Anyway, the pattern calls for casting on 34 stitches and working from there. Would you make the first and last 3 stitches all in knit and thus a border to keep it from curling, or would you add extra stitches?

I haven't seen the pattern myself but I would just knit the last three stitches. I have knit homespun with larger needles and found it easier to work with. I am one of thoes that doesn't like it but in a pinch Homespun works

i made their 4-hour baby blanket out of homespun on size 50s and i absolutely hated it. this one was also in stockinette with 4 strands, but also bias, so a little different, and maybe it was partly due to my inexperience working with larger needles or something, but it had absolutely ZERO shape whatsoever (I couldn't figure out how to fold it after washing, that's how bad it was) and the increases/decreases to make the bias came out hideous.

this very well could have been me, but i wanted to share just in case.

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You know, I was wondering exactly the same thing when I saw that pattern. It looked so pretty with just the stockinette stitch, but I also worried about the curling and wondered if I would create a border.

I have not used size 50 needles before, nor 4 strands at a time, although I "almost" knit that baby blanket someone else mentioned, and I'm really glad I didn't. I will say as a person who absolutely HATED Homespun 2 months ago, I do not mind it as much now, I guess because I've tried to train myself to knit loosely with it. I do NOT think Homespun does well with increasing/decreasing or any complex stitches, but I personally think it's okay for anything using just knit and purl stitches. That's just my opinion after completing one and making it through about a 1/4 of another afghan in Homespun, with utilizes primarily knit/purl and some increase/decreases - I hate those increase/decrease rows! But I'm seriously considering making that afghan, because it is just knit/purl stitches. And it really helps that it seems like Joann's ALWAYS has Homespun on sale, I guess because everyone hates it so much, so I love using that to my advantage.

In defense of Homespun, I used it to make their "Diamond Knit Shawl" and "Triangle Knit Shawl" and it has worked great. I think that with the huge needles and Homespun's stretchiness when knit up, the stockinette stitch alone most likely will not curl.

i made their 4-hour baby blanket out of homespun on size 50s and i absolutely hated it. this one was also in stockinette with 4 strands, but also bias, so a little different, and maybe it was partly due to my inexperience working with larger needles or something, but it had absolutely ZERO shape whatsoever (I couldn't figure out how to fold it after washing, that's how bad it was) and the increases/decreases to make the bias came out hideous.

this very well could have been me, but i wanted to share just in case.

me to but I did an adult afghan two strands with size 17 all in garter stitch and it is more of a diamond than anything else, and folding it-forget it! I'm wantng to frog it but don't know what I'd do with the yarn.